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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n2 Graves in the Desert<\/em> \u2013 In this thriller, a man wakes\nup to discover himself trapped in a trunk along with a young woman. After determining\nthat they have been kidnapped, the two do their best to figure out who has done\nthis to them and for what reason. The pair soon realize that their captors have\ntheir own bizarre and dangerous agenda and so their victims plot an escape. This\ntitle is headed directly to DVD shelves, so there aren\u2019t any reviews for it as\nof yet. Viewers will have to go in with as little information as the protagonists\nin the story and simply hope that the results are entertaining. The cast includes\nWilliam Baldwin, Michael Madsen, Ivan Gonzalez and Cassie Howarth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ana<\/em> \u2013 Set in Puerto Rico, this comedy\/drama follows a\nbroke used car dealer who discovers a 9-year-old girl sleeping in the back of\none of his vehicles. Learning that her mother has just been arrested, the salesman\ndecides to help her locate her long-lost father. Of course, his kind-hearted choice\nmay also have something to do with avoiding dangerous persons whom he owes money\nto. This odd-couple head across the island and end up helping each other in their\npursuits. Once again, this flick hasn\u2019t received any write-ups yet, so curious\nparties will have to take a chance on it. It features Andy Garcia, Dafne Keen,\nLuna Lauren Velez, Ramon Franco and Jeanne Tripplehorn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By Light of Desert Night<\/em> \u2013 Based on many movies made over\nthe past decade or so, bachelor and bachelorette parties lead to nothing but\ntrouble. In this example, it\u2019s a trip involving women celebrating the upcoming\nmarriage of one of their members. They decide to go on a desert camping trip to\nparty, but soon learn that one of them has betrayed the others in a shocking\nand disturbing way. Like the earlier titles listed here, this independent\nthriller appears to be making its premiere on disc. There aren\u2019t any notices\nfor the picture out there, so once again, this effort will be something of a\nwild card for anyone interested. Alexandra Bokova, Lara Pictet and Meghan\nCarrasquillo headline the feature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dark Waters<\/em> \u2013 Based on a true story, this legal drama\nfollows a corporate defense attorney who is asked by a family member to\ninvestigate the claims of a neighboring farmer whose cattle has died. After\ntrying to avoid the task, he eventually takes a look at their case. The lead\nsoon uncovers a shocking conspiracy involving a major corporation who also happen\nto be a potential client. Horrified by his findings, he spends the next several\nyears filing an environmental lawsuit and bringing the company to justice. The press gave high marks to this film from\nTodd Haynes (Wonderstruck<\/em>, Carol<\/em>, Far from Heaven<\/em>). One or\ntwo thought it was too reserved in its approach, but almost everyone else\ncalled the performances powerful and the story something that would stay in viewer\u2019s\nminds long after the credits roll. It stars Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins,\nBill Camp and Victor Garber. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Go Back to China<\/em> \u2013 A wealthy and spoiled young woman living\nin the US spends her way through her entire trust fund. Furious, her father insists\nthat she go to work and learn some financial responsibility at the family\u2019s toy\ncompany in China. Initially annoyed by the prospect, the experience soon changes\nthe protagonist as she comes into contact with employees and finds that she has\na talent for designing toys. Apparently, this comedy is semi-autobiographical\nand it earned a positive response from critics. While a couple of write-ups\ncomplained about the formulaic story, the consensus was that the lead was\nentertaining to watch and the film itself charming and enjoyable. The cast\nincludes Anna Akana, Richard Ng, Lynn Chen and Kelly Hu. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I Am Fear<\/em> \u2013 This chiller involves an extremely\nconservative celebrity journalist in Los Angeles who gets kidnapped by a terrorist\nsleeper cell. She discovers that the soldiers plan on beheading her on the 4th<\/sup>\nof July and streaming her live assassination to the public. Things get even\nstranger when her captors come into contact with a supernatural force that threatens\nthe sanity of everyone involved. This small, independent horror picture hasn\u2019t received\nmany reviews yet. One that did appear online suggested that it was flawed but\ndid attempt to draw attention to the fractured state of the world today. Other online\nwrite-ups have stated that it is clumsily put together and ineffective. It\nfeatures William Forsythe, Kristina Klebe, Eoin Macken, Bill Moseley and Faran\nTahir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Impossible Monsters<\/em> \u2013 A psychology professor creates\na thesis on nightmares, dreams and sleep paralysis. He sets up a sleep study,\nhoping that the data will earn him more grants and accolades for his research.\nHowever, when one of the participants die and the line between reality and dream\nbecomes blurred, the group mentality descends into chaos. This low-budget thriller\nreceived divided reactions from genre film critics. Half thought it was a fun\nconcept but suggested that the execution was lacking and the events, at times, were\ndownright preposterous. Just as many complimented the movie as an effective and\natmospheric enough to keep viewers engaged. It stars Santino Fontana, Natalie\nKnepp, Devike Bhise and Dennis Boutsikaris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ne Zha<\/em> \u2013 In this animated adventure film from China,\na young boy is born with incredible powers and gifts. This leaves him an\noutcast in his community as he is bullied by others. Destined by prophecy to\nbring destruction to the world, the child must make a choice to either fulfill his\ndestiny or ignore his calling and using his gifts to benefit those who once\ntreated him poorly. Notices were very good for this feature. A small percentage\ncomplained that the story and characters didn\u2019t translate all that well to this\npart of the world. However, far more called it an eye-popping spectacle that\ngot stronger and stronger as it progressed and ended up being as impressive as\na Disney or Pixar effort. The movie is arriving on disc with both a Mandarin-language\ntrack with English subtitles and an English-language version. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Playmobile: The Movie<\/em> \u2013 Inspired by the toy brand,\nthis family flick involves a young boy who is accidentally transported into the\nworld of Playmobile. After his disappearance, his concerned sister decides to\nrescue him. She finds a way to enter the fantasy kingdom and discovers talents\nshe never knew she possessed. This title didn\u2019t do well at the box office last\nyear and is being released exclusively on DVD. The press didn\u2019t care for it\neither. A few thought the movie was appropriate for very young family members,\nbut the overwhelming majority described it as an extended commercial that was\nbland and offered little that would appeal to the entire family. The voice cast\nincludes Anya Taylor-Joy, Gabriel Bateman, Daniel Radcliffe, Adam Lambert, Jim\nGaffigan, Kenan Thompson and Meghan Trainor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Queen & Slim<\/em> \u2013 A black man and a black woman on a\nterrible first date become fugitives on the run after they accidentally take\ndown a racist police officer who has pulled them over. The strangers attempt to\navoid capture and try to overcome their own personal differences on the road. In\nthe meantime, they become underground heroes, representing the trauma and pain\nof many across the country. Critics gave the feature high marks. There was an\nodd voice or two who found the story episodic and thought that large sections\ndidn\u2019t work. Almost everyone else called it an engaging and punchy film with\ncharismatic leads that was reminiscent of 70s cinema. They also wrote that it sought\nto do more than simply deliver action buddy movie clich\u00e9s. It stars Daniel\nKaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chlo\u00eb Sevigny and Flea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sonata<\/em> \u2013 This independent thriller follows a young violinist who receives word that her estranged composer father as passed away and left her his large estate. Naturally, it includes a big, ornate and creepy mansion. She finds one of her dad\u2019s compositions within and tries to decode a series of symbols on it. The lead soon learns that her father\u2019s actions were all part of a strange and sinister plan. Reaction was split towards this title. About half of reviewers thought the style and mood on display couldn\u2019t hide the fact that there wasn\u2019t much new or exciting going on. Still, just as many commented that it was a reasonably gripping Gothic thriller with great work from one of the supporting cast members. It features Freya Tingley, Simon Abkarian, James Faulkner and Rutger Hauer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Warrant<\/em> \u2013 A Civil War hero and father returns\nhome from battle to take up the mantle of sheriff and reunites with his son in\nthe process. Together, they are tasked with tracking down a vicious criminal\nwho was once a personal friend of the protagonist and served with him in the Union\nArmy. The family members try to stop him before his actions cause more conflict\nand strife in the region. This title appears to be making its debut on disc, which\nmeans that there isn\u2019t a review to be found for it. It also looks like for the\ntime being it is only coming out on DVD, so western fans will only be able to see\nthe film on this format. The cast includes Neal McDonough, Steven R. MqQueen,\nCasper Van Dien and Annabeth Gish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are some really quirky older titles receiving high\ndefinition upgrades this week. Arrow Academy have a Special Edition Blu-ray of Kansas\nCity<\/em> (1996), the period crime flick about a kidnapping from writer\/director\nRobert Altman (MASH<\/em>, McCabe and Mrs. Miller<\/em>). This film came a\nlittle after his 1992 critical hit The Player<\/em>, right when the moviemaker\nwas experiencing a resurgence of interest and popularity. It was nominated for\nthe Palm d\u2019Or at Cannes and stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Miranda Richardson,\nHarry Belafonte, Dermot Mulroney and Steve Buscemi. Besides the high definition\npresentation, the disc includes an archived audio commentary with Altman, a new\nfilm critic appreciation, a 2007 visual essay on the feature by a French critic,\na 1996 promotional featurette containing interviews with the cast and crew, the\nelectronic press kit, 4 theatrical trailers, TV spots and an image gallery. If\nyou\u2019re a fan, this sounds like a great release that has more extras than one\ncould possibly hope for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kino have plenty of Blu-rays arriving as well and the first one\nfeatures actor Alec Guinness. It\u2019s a Double-Feature disc of the two comedies, The\nCaptain\u2019s Paradise<\/em> (1953) and Barnacle Bill<\/em> (1957) aka All at Sea<\/em>.\nThe first is about a ferry steamer who falls for two different women in different\nports and tries to juggle relationships with both of them. The second tells the\nstory of a Naval captain who suffers from seasickness and tries to hide his\ncondition from those around. Both movies were nominated for various awards.\nEach have been given 4K restorations and the disc also comes with trailers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On a completely different note, you can also pick up a\nBlu-ray of Kinetta<\/em> (2005), one of the first films of Greek filmmaker\nYorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster<\/em>, The Favourite<\/em>). It\u2019s follows a\ntrio of unusual characters who begin staging re-enactments of brutal murders\ncommitted by a local serial killer. Things turn decidedly creepier as they\nbecome more obsessed with their hobby. The disc comes with a film historian\ncommentary track and a trailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They also have Pray for the Wildcats<\/em> (1974), a flick about ad executives who decide to ride their motorbikes through Baja, Mexico in order to plan a new promotional campaign and series of commercials. Things go south pretty quickly as danger and personal issues quickly rise to the surface. The movie is perhaps most notable for its cast of businessmen bikers, which include William Shatner, Andy Griffith, Robert Reed (from The Brady Bunch<\/em>) and Marjoe Gortner. While the movie was originally made for TV, it\u2019s fun to watch just to see some of the cast members play against type (Griffith is particularly nasty in his role). This flick has been given a 2K restoration and arrives with a film historian commentary track that hopefully explains how this crazy title all came together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re a fan of Spaghetti Westerns, then you might be\ninterested in the new Kino Blu-ray box set, Sergio Leone Westerns<\/em>. It\ncontains five of his most famous titles, including A Fistful of Dollars<\/em> (1964),\nFor A Few Dollars More <\/em>(1965), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly<\/em> (1966),\nmy personal favorite, Once Upon a Time in the West<\/em> (1968), as well as A\nFistful of Dynamite<\/em> (1971). You\u2019ll get multiple audio commentaries on select\ntitles from film critics and filmmakers too, including Alex Cox, Bernardo Bertolucci,\nJohn Carpenter and John Milius. That alone makes the set worth picking up, but\nit has other extras that include documentaries, featurettes, location comparisons,\ninterviews, all types of publicity materials, and much more. Sounds like an\nawful lot of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to the Wildcats<\/em> TV-movie, Kino are also distributing a Blu-ray of the all-star disaster TV-movie, Superdome<\/em> (1978). It\u2019s about an assassin plotting to end the lives of players, staff and attendees at the Superbowl and the efforts of police detectives to stop him before he causes complete chaos. It stars David Janssen, Tom Selleck, Donna Mills and many other familiar faces. The disc comes with a commentary from director and disaster movie veteran Jerry Jameson (Hurricane<\/em>, Terror on the 40th<\/sup> Floor<\/em>, Airport \u201977<\/em>, A Fire in the Sky<\/em>, Raise the Titanic<\/em>, Starflight: The Plane That Couldn\u2019t Land\u00a0<\/em>and Fire and Rain\u00a0<\/em>among\u00a0many\u00a0others) and trailers. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n They also have a Double Feature Blu-ray of the gritty, John\nThaw UK crime flicks, Sweeney!<\/em> (1977) and Sweeney 2<\/em> (1978). They\u2019re\nactually spin-offs from a popular British TV series and are well-regarded by cop\nmovie enthusiasts. Both titles come with film historian commentary tracks and\ntrailers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scorpion are putting out the teen comedy, Bad Manners<\/em> (1984) aka Growing Pains<\/em>. It follows a group of reckless teens from an orphanage who decide to break free from their warden-like guardians. They do so in order to trash the home of a fellow orphan who has been adopted by a rich family and free him as well. This wild comedy features Martin Mull and Karen Black in supporting roles. It has been given a new HD master. I\u2019ve never seen it and I imagine it\u2019s in incredibly bad taste (just like the poster art for the picture claims), but it might be worth a look for those who can appreciate and enjoy wacky 80s comedies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, Disney are giving a 4K upgrade to several of their animated titles from Pixar, so those with big TVs can now enjoy these flicks with crystal clear picture quality. One assume that all of the previously released extras will also be included in these sets along with the upgraded image. The Blu-rays coming your way this week are A Bug\u2019s Life<\/em> (1998), Monsters Inc<\/em> (2001), Monsters University<\/em> (2013), Up<\/em> (2009) and Wall-E<\/em> (2008).<\/p>\n\n\n\n You Know, For Kids!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s plenty of kid-friendly entertainment hitting store\nshelves this week. Here are the highlights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Floogals: Investigation Station<\/em> On the Tube!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And here are all of the TV-themed releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Easter Under Wraps<\/em> (Hallmark TV-movie) ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/DVD-ana-elevator.jpg\")
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\nBlasts from the Past!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/DVD-kansas-city-leigh-belafonte.jpg\")
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Jim Henson\u2019s Doozers: We Dig Spring!<\/em>
Ne Zha<\/em>
PAW Patrol: Mighty Pups: Super PAWs<\/em> (Nickelodeon)
PJ Masks: Power of Mystery Mountain<\/em>
Playmobile: The Movie <\/em>
Teen Titans Go!<\/em>: Season 5, Part 2
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the Moon in Love<\/em> (Hallmark TV-movie)
PAW Patrol: Mighty Pups: Super PAWs<\/em> (Nickelodeon)
Teen Titans Go!<\/em>: Season 5, Part 2
Titans<\/em>: Season 2
Vienna Blood<\/em> (PBS)
When Calls the Heart: Finding Home
Women of Impact: Changing the World<\/em> (National Geographic) <\/p>\n\n\n\n